Protective shoe

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a protective shoe adapted to protect the foot of the wearer thereof practicing the arts of karate, etc. The shoe comprises a casing of soft resilient material open at the bottom, and is provided with straps for retaining the shoe on the foot.

United States Patent 11 1 Rhee Nov. 6, 1973 [54] PROTECTIVE SHOE2,541,738 2 1951 Bassichis 36/8.l 2,814,887 12/1957 Hockle [76] Invent:Rhee 2525 Rdgev'ew 3,104,479 9/1963 DAmic o 2/DlG. 6

Rd., Arlmgton, Va. 22207 1 Filed: May a 1972 Primary Examiner-Patrick D.Lawson 211 App! No 252 0 9 Attorney-4. William Millen et al.

[52] US. Cl 36/2 R [57] ABSTRACT [51] Int. Cl A41d 17/00 581 Field ofSearch 36/1, 1.5, 2 R 2 A The relates Pmtecme adapted 36/2 B 2 5 R 2 5 A8 protect the foot of the wearer thereof practicing the arts of karate,etc. The shoe comprises a casing of soft [56] References Cited resilientmaterial open at the bottom, and is provided UNITED STATES PATENTS withstraps for retaining the shoe on the foot. 2,657,477 11/1953 7 Winslow36/2 R 7 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures I20 ll I I9 I I l4 IO Q I6 69722PATENIEDHHY Sim 3 7 I SHEET 10F 2 BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Thisinvention relates to a protective shoe adapted to be worn on the foot inthe arts and sports of karate, tae kwon do, kong fu, kick boxing, etc.

The art of karate, in particular, is a method developed in Japan fordefending oneself without-the use of weapons by striking sensitive areason an attackers body with the hands, elbows, knees or feet. Duringtraining in the art and in organized competition, the use of the feetcan become badly bruised from extensive use thereof. The presentinvention provides a novel shoe adapted to prevent injury to the footand to other persons engaging in the art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Generally, the protective shoe of the inventioncomprises an open soled casing of soft resilient material shaped toconform generally to. the foot. Straps are provided for retaining theshoe on the foot.

Other featuresand'advantages of the; invention will become apparent fromthe following description of a specific embodiment of the protectiveshoe taken in connection with the drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. .1 is a perspective view of oneembodiment of the protective shoe of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of the shoe of FIG. 1 showingpermanent-type straps for retaining the shoe on the wearers foot;

FIG. 3 is a plan side view of the protective shoe of FIG. 1 being wornon a wearers foot;

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the protective shoe;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a second embodiment of the protectiveshoe of the invention; and

FIG. 6 is a bottom view of the shoe shown in FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION thereby fusing the surface toproduce a tough surface or casing. This provides a continuous outertough casing which prevents tearing of the foam during use.Alternatively, the surface can be toughened by dipping or applying acoating of'a suitable plastic material to provide the outer casing. Thedevice has an opening 11 into which the foot of the wearer can beinserted to permit wearing of the shoe. The bottom 12 of the shoe isopen and thereby the sole of the foot of the wearer of the shoe contactsthe floor or ground. This is in keeping with the various sportsmentioned whereby the foot is used in the contact sports.

The shoe is retained on the foot of the wearer by means of straps 12aand 13. As shown, the straps provided are permanently connected to theshoe by passing the ends through a strip of material 14 secured to thetop of the casing. The strip 14 has slittedholes l5 and 16 which extendthrough the casing. The ends 17 and 18 of the straps are passed throughthe slits and are secured to the underside of the top of the casing. Onepurpose of the strip 14 is toprevent tearing of the casing from tensionof the straps.

The straps 12a and 13 are provided with means for detachably securingthe shoe on the foot. As shown, velcro material 19 and 20 can beprovided on the free ends of the straps. A felt material 21 and 22 isprovided on the straps along the portion which crosses the top of thecasing. When the'shoe is put on the foot, the strap ends 19 and 2 0 canbe'brought in contact with surfaces 21 and 22 which retain the strapends. Adjustment of the straps to the comfort of the wearer is thereforeprovided.

Although, straps have been shown using velcro mate rial, it isunderstood that other strap arrangements can be used. The straps can beprovided with snaps, laces, and the like for securing the shoe on thewearers foot. Thus, as shown in FIG 2, elastic straps 23 and 24 can beprovided which are permanently secured to a strip material 25 secured tothe casing. The casing 10 comprising the soft resilient material can beused assuch. However, as previously stated, to provide a greaterpermanence to the casing, the surface thereof can be treated by variousmeans to toughen it without lessening the resilient character of thecasing. The casing can also be covered with a fabric material stitchedaround the surfaces of the casing.

F IGS. 5 and 6 illustrates another embodiment of the protective shoe ofthe invention. The shoe indicated generally by the numeral comprises anopen bottomed casing 10 similar in construction and material as V theone shown in FIGS. 1-4. The casing is provided with a plurality of holes31 for the purpose of providing ventilation. The casing also isdesigned-to have a portion 32 thereof extend upwardly for the purpose ofcovering and protecting the ankle of the wearer of the shoe.

' The shoe is worn on the foot and retained thereon by passing the bigtoe through a round strap 33' retained in a hole 34. A second roundstrap 33a in hole 34a is provided through which the little toe can beinserted. A strap 35 is provided which passes through a series of holes36, 37, 38 and 39 and is adapted to pass around the bottom of the foot.When the shoe 30 is on the foot, the ends of strap 35 can be adjustedand tied together tofit the comfort of the wearer. Casing 10 is providedwith a slitted portion 40 which permits flexibility of the casing to fitlarger or smaller feet.

Although strap 35 is shown as one that can be tied, it is within theconcept of the invention that elastic straps and straps with velcromaterial, as previously described, can be used in place thereof.

In'use, the protective shoe permits the use of the foot as a weapon inthe sports mentioned, without bruising the foot, or causing serious harmto other persons engaging in the sports.

Although the shoe has been particularly described for use in the art ofkarate, it is also contemplated that the shoe can be'worn by contestantsin many types of sports such' askick boxing, etc., wherein it is notintended to injure the contestants, and wherein injury to the foot isprevented.

From the foregoing description, one skilled in the art can easilyascertain the essential characteristics of this invention, and withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope thereof, can make various changesand modifications of the invention to adapt it to various usages andconditions.

What is claimed is:

l. A protective shoe for use in the art of karate and the likecomprising a unitary casing means adapted to fit over the top of thefoot and around the heel generally conforming in shape to the upper partof the foot, an opening in the top rear portion of the casing into whichthe foot of the wearer can be inserted, said casing being entirely openat the bottom, resilient foam means within said casing means, and strapmeans attached to said casing adapted to encircle the bottom of saidcasing to retain the shoe on the foot.

2. The shoe of claim 1 wherein said casing is provided with hole meansfor ventilation purposes.

3. The shoe of claim 1 wherein said strap means are elastic.

4. The shoe of claim 1 wherein portions of said strap means are securedto the casing and detachabley securable together.

5. The shoe of claim 1 wherein said casing comprises an upper sectionadapted to fit around the ankle.

6. The shoe of claim 1 wherein said casing includes strap means adaptedto engage toes of the foot.

7. The shoe of claim 1 wherein said casing comprises a plastic material.

UNITED STATES PATENT oFFlcEf-g CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No.3,769,722 Dated November 6, 1973 Inventor(s) JHOQN GOO RHEE It iscertified that error appears in the above-identified patent and thatsaid Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 2, lines 13, 21 and 58 change elcro" to read '--"Ve1cro'v--Column 3, line 2 after prevented. add the following sentence. "The termVe'lcro" appearing herein is a registered trademark of the AmericanVelcro, Inc.

Claim 4, line 2 change '.'detachabley" to read detachably- Signed andsealed this 5th day of November 1974.

(SEAL) Attest:

MCCOY GIBSON JR. C. MARSHALL DANN Attesting Officer Commissioner ofPatents FORM powso (10439) uscoMM-oc 60376-P69 U5. GOVERNMENT PRINTINGOFFICE: I969 0-366-334

1. A protective shoe for use in the art of karate and the likecomprising a unitary casing means adapted to fit over the top of thefoot and around the heel generally conforming in shape to the upper partof the Foot, an opening in the top rear portion of the casing into whichthe foot of the wearer can be inserted, said casing being entirely openat the bottom, resilient foam means within said casing means, and strapmeans attached to said casing adapted to encircle the bottom of saidcasing to retain the shoe on the foot.
 2. The shoe of claim 1 whereinsaid casing is provided with hole means for ventilation purposes.
 3. Theshoe of claim 1 wherein said strap means are elastic.
 4. The shoe ofclaim 1 wherein portions of said strap means are secured to the casingand detachabley securable together.
 5. The shoe of claim 1 wherein saidcasing comprises an upper section adapted to fit around the ankle. 6.The shoe of claim 1 wherein said casing includes strap means adapted toengage toes of the foot.
 7. The shoe of claim 1 wherein said casingcomprises a plastic material.